Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Brookfield East High School Principal Andrew Farley has been named the 2024 National Principal of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. Farley accepted the award from the organization at a celebration on Oct. 20 in Washington, D.C. This is the first time a Wisconsin principal has received this honor since 1993.
“I am so impressed by the work being done at Brookfield East High School, and I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Principal Andy Farley and the entire Elmbrook Schools family,” State Superintendent Dr. Underly said in a statement. “What an incredible honor for Principal Farley to be recognized at the national level for the leadership his students and staff see every day in his attention to school culture, student mental health and wellness, and academic excellence.
“I commend his work, and I am thankful that the NASSP has chosen to honor his contributions to his community and Wisconsin public education by recognizing him as National Principal of the Year.”
As a principal for a decade, Farley has "led a school culture committed to the school’s mission of academic and human excellence," Elmbrook School District noted in a news release. Described as a "student-first leader," Farley has spearheaded many new programs at Brookfield East which enrich the lives of students and shine a light of hope on the future. He is credited with launching a "Principal's Cabinet: A group of 50 student-leaders representing all grades, reflects on core values and sets goals and action plans to best align to the school culture." This group led to initiatives that "added a 30-minute resource block to the daily schedule, secured funding for a $700,000 Learning Commons/Library renovation project, and solved operational challenges such as cafeteria capacity issues." And that's just the tip of the iceberg -- from creating more peer mental health supports to redesigning classrooms, it's clear why Farley's leadership was singled out for this national spotlight.
Earlier this year, Farley was selected by the U.S. Department of Education to receive the 2023 Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership.This award recognizes outstanding school leaders and the vital role they have in guiding students and schools to excellence while overcoming challenges along the way. Nine principals from the 2023 cohort of National Blue Ribbon Schools were honored this year. From the Department of Education's website: "Principals chosen as Terrel H. Bell Award recipients have transformed their schools. Their vision and collaborative leadership styles have produced outstanding results for all of their students to develop academically, emotionally, physically, socially, and culturally. These principals have shown that with effective leadership, skilled teaching, and high expectations, all students can learn."
“This distinguished award shines a much-deserved spotlight on Andy’s commitment to all students at Brookfield East,” reflected Dr. Tanya Fredrich, Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning. “His leadership has shown that empathy and humanity tied with strong continuous improvement and high academic expectations can wield immense results.”
Read more about Farley and the amazing work going on at Brookfield East on the U.S. Department of Education's website.